The deer demon’s greed didn’t sway Mo Fan, but rather, his intelligence shifted Mo Fan’s view of demons somewhat.
Before this, in Mo Fan’s eyes, demons were almost all ignorant, their words carrying a crude, rustic air, like village children who’d never seen the world, even using the local-flavoured “I” in their speech.
But this deer demon was different from other demons, he was astute, quick to grasp things, which somewhat surprised Mo Fan.
“It seems not all demons are foolish, perhaps it’s tied to their cultivation level, the higher the cultivation, the smarter they are?”
“Indeed, higher cultivation means a longer lifespan, and living longer naturally means seeing more…”
Mo Fan mused to himself, then directly stated his price, “Twenty spirit stones, is my sincerity enough?”
“You really do have spirit stones!”
Deer Greedy’s face lit up with a wide smile, but he shook his head, “But your sincerity isn’t quite enough!”
“How much do you want then?” Mo Fan frowned slightly.
Though he wasn’t clear on the value of spirit stones, judging by the decor in Deer Greedy’s cave, spirit stones must be extremely precious, at least rare!
The entire cave had fewer than ten spirit stones on display!
“One thousand spirit stones!”
Deer Greedy’s eyes gleamed, staring intently at Mo Fan.
“Looks like we’ve got nothing to talk about.”
Mo Fan rolled his eyes, thinking, “This guy’s appetite is ridiculous! I’ve only got about a hundred spirit stones on me, does he think they’re pebbles on the roadside?”
Now Mo Fan finally understood why this demon was called “Deer Greedy”, this wasn’t just greed, it was madness!
With that, Mo Fan stood up, ready to leave.
“Hey! Hey!”
“Hold on! Brother Laibao, hold on, if you think the price isn’t fair, we can still negotiate!” Deer Greedy shouted as Mo Fan moved to leave.
“I don’t think there’s any need for that, I’ve shown some sincerity, but it seems Deer Dingmu has none to offer,” Mo Fan said expressionlessly, heading straight for the cave’s exit.
“Fine, you want sincerity?”
“Since you’ve put it that way, brother, I’ll take a step back, five hundred!”
“Five hundred spirit stones, how’s that for sincerity?” Deer Greedy said urgently.
This time, Mo Fan didn’t even respond, his steps unbroken, nearing the cave’s entrance. Deer Greedy gritted his teeth, somewhat exasperated, “One hundred! Just one hundred spirit stones, and Brother Laibao’s business is my business!”
At that, Mo Fan stopped, slowly turned around, and smiled, “Deer Dingmu, you know how rare spirit stones are, so thirty spirit stones is the most sincerity I can offer!”
“You… kid, don’t push it!”
“Whether that poisonous scorpion went missing or is gone for good, I think you know best. Thirty spirit stones to buy your life, don’t you think that’s a bit low?”
“Eighty spirit stones, that’s my final concession!” Deer Greedy glared at Mo Fan fiercely.
Mo Fan fell silent for a moment, sighed, and said, “Alright, let’s both take a step back, fifty spirit stones. If that’s not enough, I’m out of options, after all, that scorpion demon’s total assets are only this much!”
“Fifty spirit stones…”
Deer Greedy frowned, thought for a moment, and nodded, “Fine, fifty it is, hand over the spiritual imprint!”
Mo Fan grinned, opened his mouth, and spat out fifty spirit stones, waving his hand to send them all flying towards Deer Greedy.
The fifty spirit stones gathered together, emitting a bright glow that noticeably lit up the entire cave.
Seeing this, Deer Greedy felt a pang of regret, because the decisiveness of the guy in front of him suggested he likely had more than fifty spirit stones!
“Damn it, I could’ve squeezed more, what a loss!”
Deer Greedy cursed inwardly, his expression souring.
“By the way, I’d advise Deer Dingmu, these fifty spirit stones are the scorpion demon Heizi’s legacy, in a sense, dirty money, so I hope you’ll think carefully before acting,” Mo Fan said, eyes narrowing slightly.
“You’re… quite something!”
Deer Greedy chuckled, saying, “Don’t worry, I may be greedy, but since I’ve taken your payment, I’ll naturally handle things for you.”
“But matters like Dingmu aren’t up to me alone, you must know that since you came to me.
Now that the third general has left with that wicked wolf, the affairs of this mountain are handled by me and Crane Feifei, that female demon, so you’ll need her approval too.
But… tsk tsk, let me warn you, that female demon isn’t so easy…”
Before Deer Greedy could finish, Mo Fan cut him off, “Thanks for the concern, but before visiting you, I went to Crane Dingmu’s cave, and we had a very pleasant chat.”
“What?!”
Deer Greedy’s eyes widened, but he quickly relaxed, staring at Mo Fan for a while before suddenly laughing, “You’re something, really something!”
“In that case, you can go. As for the identity token, I’ll need to discuss it with Crane Feifei, but it won’t be later than this month’s cultivation assembly!”
Deer Greedy waved his hand, downing the wine on the table in one gulp.
“Can I ask Deer Dingmu a question?”
Instead of leaving, Mo Fan looked at Deer Greedy, opened his mouth, and spat out an orange-yellow gourd, waving it to float towards Deer Greedy.
“What’s this?”
Deer Greedy was somewhat surprised, unsure what Mo Fan was up to.
“When I entered the cave, you had your underlings pour me wine, so I figured you like drinking. I happened to pick up some low-grade spirit wine when I returned from outside the mountain, so I’m giving you a gourd to try,” Mo Fan smiled.
Low-grade spirit wine?
Deer Greedy paused, then popped open the gourd’s stopper, gave it a shake, and sure enough, a wave of wine fragrance hit him.
“It really is low-grade spirit wine!”
Deer Greedy’s eyes flashed with delight, and he quickly stored the gourd, then looked at Mo Fan with a smile, “Brother Laibao, you’re too kind. Ask away, I’ll answer anything I know fully.”
“Then I’ll thank Deer Dingmu first!”
“No need for ‘Dingmu,’ with our relationship, just call me by name!” Deer Greedy said boldly.
Deer Greedy?
Mo Fan’s face twitched slightly before he asked, “I wonder, Brother Deer, what do you need so many spirit stones for?”
At that, Deer Greedy frowned again, seemingly debating whether to answer, looking conflicted. After a long pause, he gave a wry smile, “I knew you were clever, Brother Laibao, digging out my secret with just one question…”
“Secret?” Mo Fan’s heart stirred, but he stayed silent, looking at Deer Greedy.
“Since I’ve already boasted, I’ll be straight with you!”
Deer Greedy took a deep breath, glanced around, and lowered his voice, “Spirit stones aren’t much use to me, but they’re valuable in the human markets, where they can be used as hard currency to buy plenty of good things!”
Human markets?
Mo Fan’s eyes flickered, and he asked, “What are these human markets? Since they’re human places, do you dare to go there, Brother Deer?”
“The so-called markets are like bazaars, places where cultivators gather to trade and sell items.
Ordinary markets, I, Old Deer, wouldn’t dare visit, that’d be like a meat bun thrown to a dog.
But the market I know of is different…”
